映画【もののけ姫】サン役 石田ゆり子さんへ｜To Yuriko Ishida, the voice actress of San in the movie "Princess Mononoke,"

-There is an English translation at the bottom of the text-

映画を観て文章を書く時のマイルール

noteに初めて映画のことを書いた文章【サブスタンス】はたまごと鶏とシャイニング🍳でも軽く触れたのだが…
映画を観てnoteの文章を書く時のわたしのマイルール》は…

映画のはなしのまえに〈わたし〉のはなし

京都と野生のいきもの

京都に来てびっくりしたことの一つは、山が近いことだ。それまで関東で働いていたわたしは京都のオフィスに来た初日。窓から今まで観たことのない距離で山が見えたので「わぁ～。山がみえる～。」と気が付いたら口から出ていた。すると「ハイジかっ！」とツッコミを受け関西のノリもわからず、一人ぽかんとしていると周りがくすくすと笑っていた。（いまなら、「それならあんたら。あたしの面倒みるオンジやなっ。」と切り返して笑いを取るだけの距離感と度胸も付いたと思う。笑）

さらに驚いたのは動物の飛び出し注意の看板があることだ。しかも〈看板だけで全く動物を見ない〉とかそういう事ではないのだ。初めて鹿に出会ったのは車の中だった。ロータリーに長時間車を停めると邪魔になる。人を迎えに行くまで早く着いてしまい…。少し広い道に車を停めてエンジンを切って待っていた時だった。視線を感じて樹と樹の間をふと見ると鹿の親子がこちらを見ていた。その瞬間が永遠にも感じられるような〈邪気のない空間〉で、もはやガラスがわたしとその鹿の間に隔たっているのも忘れてしまうような…。不思議な時間だった。

さらには車で住宅街を走っていると、川辺で鹿の親子や群れが水を飲んでいるのだ。それに驚いて後日その近所に住んでいる方と、その場所を通りかかった時…。鹿が水を飲んでいた話をしたら、さらに驚きの話をしてくれたのだ。その近くには高級外車のディーラーがあるのだが…。そのそばを「夜に歩いていると、高級外車の上を鹿がぴょんぴょんと跳ねていた」というのだ。もう呆気に取られて、しゃがみ込みそうになりながら笑って歩いているとふと我に返って…。「それって保険きくんですかね」とわたしが言うとさらに笑いがこみあげてきて、少しの間笑いすぎて変な歩き方のまま駅までの道を歩いたのだった。

そんな日常に驚きもしなくなってきた、つい先日。自宅の目の前でタヌキに遭遇したのだ。ハクビシンとかなんかよくわからないものだったのかもしれないが…。わたしにはタヌキに見えた。それも以前、車を運転していると〈竹林から昼間に道路へと出てきてしまったタヌキ〉をおじさんたちが竹林へ返そうとする騒動がわたしの運転席の目の前で繰り広げられたことがあった。まさしく、わたしはジブリの世界に迷い込んだのかと後から思ったものの…。その最中は固唾をのんで見守っていた。そのため（多分笑）タヌキを身近に見たことがあったし、その時と同様の形状だったように思う。

しかしながら、竹林の中にわたしの自宅があるわけでもなく…。比較的京都の中でも街中にあると思っていた、わたしの自宅。歩道に突如、アパートの外階段から降りてきて横切ったのがネコよりも大きくしっぽの太いその子は（多分笑）タヌキだった。しかも、わたしと目が合ってしまい双方動けなくなってしまったのだった。

その様はまさに、ボクサー同士がリングの中で一定の距離を保ちながら円を描いてステップを踏むような感じに近かった。しかもなぜか…特に威嚇されたわけでもないのに、そのわたしよりも小さいそのタヌキがいつ襲い掛かってきてもおかしくないように感じたのだ。きっとお互いに相手に恐怖を感じていただけだったと思う。
夜も遅すぎて、目と鼻の先の自宅に早く帰りたいわたしは困ったが…身動きが取れない。そんなふうに考えている間にも、タヌキとはなぜか目をそらせなかったのでずっと見つめ合ったままである。そんなわたしたちの間に割って入ったのはイヤフォンをして、スマホを見つめたままの男性だった。わたしたちの緊張感に気が付くこともなく、なんなら変な場所に立っているわたしを視界の端でとらえ…。ちょっと怪訝そうにスマホを見ながら颯爽とわたしと多分、タヌキの間を歩いて行った。

一瞬の出来事だったが、わたしにはその男性がヒーローに見えた。かっこよすぎた。その男性の気配を感じたことで、わたしは安心感を感じ…。多分タヌキはびっくりして、ゆっくりな足取りでわたしを気にしながらも去っていった。そしてわたしはその男性の後ろにピッタリくっついて何なら小走りで、無事に徒歩20秒の自宅に到着した。

そんな出来事から1か月たたないうちに、今度はサルに遭遇した。遭遇と言っても上記のタヌキほどではなくちょっと見ただけのことだ。今までは比較的街中での出来事だったが、週末に用事があって京都の田舎の方まで一人でドライブをした時だ。何個も〈動物注意〉の看板が、高速道路の左側を流れてく…。

そんななか、とあるトンネルに入ろうとしたとき。トンネルの入り口の上を、サーーーーっと何かが通った。ぱっと目をやるとサルがトンネルの入り口の〈トンネル名〉がよく書いてある上で立ち止まって、こちらを見降ろしているではないか。一瞬だったが、そのサルが人間界を見下ろしているように見えた。

保育園年長のお遊戯会

保育園最後のお遊戯会は〈さるかに合戦〉だった。お昼寝の前やお弁当の時間の前、外遊びの前などによく読んでもらっていた絵本だった。なのでみんなどんなキャラクターが出てくるか知っていた。
そんな〈さるかに合戦〉をお遊戯会でやると決まった日の、お昼寝の前。電気も消され、みんなパジャマで薄暗い教室で一列に並ばされた。担任の先生に耳打ちでやりたい役を告げるようにと言う指示だった。わたしは絶対に衣装がかわいいであろう〈カニ〉か〈ハチ〉が良かった。そんなことを考えながら自分の番が回ってくるのを一歩、また一歩と待った。

いざ自分の番になった時…。「カニかハチがいいです。」と先生に伝えた。しかしとっさに付け加えて「もしサル役の子が少なかったらサルでもいいです。」と言ったのだった。自分でもなんで、そんなことを言ったのかはわからなかったが…。〈さるかに合戦〉の、お話を知っているみんながサルをやるようには思えなかった。どう考えてもサル以外のキャラクターに希望が殺到するのが目に見えたので、とっさにと言うか口が勝手に動いていたというほうがいいだろう。

そんなお遊戯会当日、わたしはサルの恰好にそれぞれの個性を出すため…。違う色のビニールでできたベストを着せられるのだが、ピンク色のベストを着てご満悦だった。そんなわたしは本番中の壇上で転んでしまい、みんながハッと息をのんだのがわかったのだが…。当時バレンタインやホワイトデーを贈り合っていた同じサル役の男の子がサッと手を差し伸べてくれ、その場はハッとした空気から和やかな空気に変っていったのを肌で感じた。

その男の子とは高校を卒業した春休み。教習所で再会し、どうやってそんな展開になったのか覚えていないのだが…。近所の小さい時によく行っていたミスタードーナツに2人で行った。しかしながら、彼もめちゃめちゃ緊張していたのだろう。話しながら紙ナプキンを粉々に割くという、手さばきが異様に気になってしまって…。（そんな彼をかわいいと思うには、まだわたしは若すぎた。）ドン引きしてしまって、なんの話も耳に入らず…わたしの幼き頃の恋は紙ナプキンと共に散っていった。今もミスタードーナツに入って、トレーに置かれる紙ナプキンをみるとたまに彼を思い出す。

祟り

わたしにはいくつかトラウマがある。そのうちの1つがダンスでのソロだ。【国宝】や【ラ・ラ・ランド】でも少し書いたのだが、3歳の頃から新体操をやっていた。人生2回目の発表会は年中さんでショッキングピンクでラメの糸で模様が織り込まれている、レオタードに友布で耳を作ってもらい…。前転をしても取れないようにがっちりヘアピンで固定して…。ペットボトルのキャップを黒く塗りテグスで耳からひっかけて、鼻に。そして黒のビニールテープを細く切って3ずつ両頬に貼り付けてもらった。いつもと違う準備。それだけで、発表会当日はワクワクした。

そして10人もいない4歳前後の子達が、そんな恰好で出てきて映画【となりのトトロ】のネコバスが森の中を駆け抜ける曲「ちゃんちゃ ちゃんちゃ～♪ちゃんちゃちゃんちゃん ちゃちゃっ ちゃちゃ～～♪」というアップテンポな曲に合わせて踊ったのだ。じぶんがというより、そんな集団は可愛さ極まりなかったと思う。笑　踊ると言っても当時新体操クラスの中でも年齢はしたから2番目のクラス。小学生のお姉さんに連れられて、立ち位置まで連れてきてもらい…。会場の体育館の四隅には、全身黒に身を包んだ保護者スタッフが何があっても駆け付けられるよう…。片端立ちで、すわっていて万全の体制が整っていた。そして観客の後ろで振りを忘れても踊りきれるように、先生はひととおり踊ってくれる。そんな安心安全の環境の中、先生の真似をしながらも「おともだち」と一緒に踊るのは最高に楽しかった。

そんなわたしも成長し、小学校中学年くらいだったと思う。年齢学年は珍しく定かではないのだが…。初めてソロで踊ることになったのだ。ソロで踊ると言っても抜擢されたとか、そういう事ではなく…。全員が同じ課題曲をソロで踊るのだ。そしてその様子を長机に２～３人の先生が観ているという、ネコバスの時とは打って変わったプレッシャーの中で踊らなくてはならないのだ。

また課題曲が、同じフレーズの繰り返しで【古畑任三郎】や【世にも不思議な物語】のオープニング曲に告示しており…。暗いし、同じ繰り返し過ぎて今どこを踊っているのかわからなくなるような、いまのわたしでも難しいと感じる曲だったと振り返って思う。そんな発表会だったのか、何かのクラス分けオーディションのようなものだったのか…。記憶というのは怖いもので、全く消し去ってしまっているので詳細はわからないが…。ソロの発表の当日。最初のポーズまで今もって覚えているのに、同じフレーズの繰り返し3～4回目くらいで自分が今どこを踊っているのかわからなくなり…。頭は真っ白、身体はフリーズで、ただ一人だけ踊りきることが出来なかった。

まあ今思えば、週一回のレッスン以外は自宅で自主練することもないような不真面目な児童だったので…。当然の結果と言えば当然なのだが…。当時はショックでショックでしょうがなかった。大人になってダンスを再開し「ソロで」と言われても、当時のことを振り返り「絶対に嫌です」というほどのトラウマだった。

そんな新体操もほとんど休むことなく通ったのは、学校や家以外で小さい時から自分を知っている人がいる第三の居場所だったからかもしれないし…。単純に同年代の子と身体を動かすのが好きだったからかもしれない。辞めることなく最後まで通いきれた〈内発的動機の理由〉は全くわからないが。月謝・衣装の準備・（新体操ではそのまま種目名となる道具例えば…ボールやフープ・リボンなどを「シュグ」と呼ぶ）高価な手具をそろえる等わたしが新体操を続けられるよう支えてくれたのは両親だ。しかしメインは母と言っていいだろう。

中でも母は自身も仕事をフルタイムでしていたのにも関わらず、片道20分から時には40分の道のりを毎週欠かさず車で送り迎えしてくれていた。毎週の習い事なので、通う体育館は決まっていたのだが…。発表会の前の各曜日合同練習やリハーサルなどは、いつもと違う少し遠い体育館に行くこともあった。そんな、いつもと違う体育館の帰り道だったと思う…。ある橋というか低めの陸橋と呼ぶのか…何回か、通ったことのある道の前で赤信号で止まった。その赤信号で母が突然、語りだしたのである。

「ねえ。知ってた？この道の左側にほこらがあるでしょう…。お地蔵さんか神様か祀られていると思うんだけど。ここの道、何度も工事しようとしたんだって。でもそのたびに洪水とか、事故とかで工事は結局できなかったんだって。だからちょっと〈変な道〉なのも納得だよね…。」と。夜の外灯に照らされた母が静かに語るその口調は何十年と、たった今も当時の車内の空気感さえも思い出されるほどだ。

そんなわたしも、大人になり社会人になって気が付けば10年。先日、どんな巡りあわせか〈建築畑の人〉をわたしの運転する車の助手席に乗せたのだった。彼は昭和感あふれるサラリーマンでわたしが生まれた時には、既にネクタイを締め「あと少しで、おれも定年やなぁ」と豪快に笑う…。高級な背広と靴に、時代とともに電子には変わったものの…。煙草をふかす手が止まらない、ザ〈昭和のおっちゃん〉と言う人だ。

関東からやってきた彼に、ここはこんなところで…と、京都の町を軽く案内しながら運転していた。すると建築畑の人という事もあって、工事中のところばかり目につくのである。「ここは？ここは？」と聞かれるところは防塵のための白い幕が張られている工事現場ばかり。「ここはなにがあったっけ。」と思い出すのが、やっとの場所ばかりだった。

そんな彼が最後に「ここは？」と言ったところについた時…。わたしは母が語った〈小さな橋のような陸橋のような道路〉を思い返しながら語った。「ここは…神様が住んでいるという土地を切り開いて、建物を建てて…。老朽化してきたので最近、立て直しているんです。近くには、神社が…。」と話していると「あぁ。何人か死んでいるかもね。」と、彼は〈さらり〉と言ったのだ。そんな冗談を言うような人でもないし。その目はいたって真剣だった。
わたしが知らないだけで、きっとそんな話が日本には五万とあるのだろう。

ネタバレなしの映画の感想

とある北の村に住む少年アシタカの目の前にタタリガミが現れる。村や村に住む少女守るために取った行動が、彼の一生を変えてしまう。

自然界をアニメで表現する方法は圧巻。湿った森の空気まで伝わってくる。映画館で観たことがない人は映画館で。単なる時代劇ではない。現代の日本人にこそ必要な作品。（140文字）

ネタバレありの映画の感想

人生で初めて映画の中に入り込んだ

保育園の頃、家族でレンタルビデオショップに行って何本かビデオを借りてくるのか週末の楽しみだった。そんなわたしの家は、圧倒的に母の方が映画好きだったため…。レンタルビデオショップに行くのは母とわたしか、父と母とわたしの3人で行くことがほとんどだった。そんなとある平日の夜。いまはもう亡くなってしまった…ほろ酔いの父が突然、レンタルビデオショップの袋を下げて帰宅したのだった。〈映画が大好き〉というような人ではなかった父が、一人でレンタルビデオショップへ行ったことも驚きだった。が…「ただいまぁ～」という声と共に、その袋から出てきたのが【もののけ姫】だった。

その夜に3人で観たのか、はたまた違う日の平日に母と観たのか定かではないが…。多分父と母と3人で観たと記憶している。その物語の中にわたしは入り込んでしまって、いつもだったらどんな状況で観たか克明に思い出せるのに…。わたしが思い出せるのは【もののけ姫】の世界の中だけだ。
当時大ヒットを記録したことは、なんとなく報道で知っている。しかしわたしのなかではヒットと言うよりも、完全に生活の一部になったことのほうが印象的だ。

画像を調べる過程で、上下巻に分かれていることやサンプルページで中身をみてもピンとこないので…。もしかしたら保育園で読んでもらっていただけかもしれないが…。他のジブリ作品の、この手の絵本が本屋に並んでいることは知っていても手に取ったことはなかった『徳間アニメ絵本』だが…。この上巻は何度も手に取ったように記憶している。

それまでも家で何本も映画を観せてもらっていたが、ここまで世界感に入り込んだ映画はなかった。その証拠に保育園で何度【もののけ姫】ごっこをしたかわからないし、家でも一人【もののけ姫】ごっこに明け暮れた。

よくコインランドリーで毛布等を洗う間に、両親と車で父の飲むアサヒビールの24巻入りを酒屋に買いに行った。そこには父か必ず買うビーフジャーキーがあって…。塩分が高いので母から「しょっぱいからダメっ！」と言われ、ほとんど食べることはできないのだが…。ちいさなひとかけ、ふたかけ父からもらって「たべないのか」と、一人和室でする【もののけ姫】ごっこ。

保育園ではいつも使う、椅子（大人は体育座りくらいになってしまう椅子）を一列にダーっと長く並べて…。その上をみんなで走る【もののけ姫】ごっこ。

今思うとそんな危ない遊びを、先生たちが許すはずもないので〈走る〉といっても実際には〈そろりそろり〉と歩く程度だったのだろうと想像するととってもかわいい。笑

でも実際には…わたしふくめ、みんなの目には椅子がタタラ場の大屋根にみえていて…。みんながみんな、そこを全力疾走で走るサンや下で待ち受けるエボシやコンザ、オトキたちだったのだ。

人生で初めてついた嘘

幼いころ夜眠る前に絵本を読んでもらうか、お話を聞かせてもらって眠るのが日課だった。しかし2～３日だけ布団に入って、わたしが母にお話をして聞かせた夜があった。それが【もののけ姫】だった。

なんの話の流れだったのか全く思い出せないのだが、その日保育園であったことを話ていたのだと思う。それこそ、椅子を並べて【もののけ姫】ごっこをした晩だったかもしれない。「今度のお遊戯会何をやるの？」みたいな会話になぜか【もののけ姫】と言ったのだった。今思うと、よっぽど保育園での【もののけ姫】ごっこが楽しかったのだと思う。

大人になった今もたまに、観た作品が惜しかった時など「このキャスティングだったらぴったり大ヒット」的な空想遊びを母とやったりする。そんな遊びをするよりはるか以前に考えたわたしの【もののけ姫】のキャスティングは今でも感心するほど見事なキャスティングだ。笑ヤックル役の親友は顔がそっくりだし。エボシ御前なんて負けん気のの強さがもう一人の親友以外には絶対にありえない。

母は「あなたは何をやるの？」と話の流れからぜったに聞いたはずなのに…。わたしは答えたり、自ら話した記憶が全くない。もしかしたら舞台監督に徹していたのかもしれない。笑

そんなわたしの寝る前のお話も、終わりにしないといけない日がやってきて「ほんとはね〈さるかに合戦〉やるの」と泣きながら母にうちあけたのもいい思い出だ。

そんな保育園の思い出だが、卒園の時みんなで歌ったのは〈さよならぼくたちの保育園〉と【もののけ姫】のラストで流れる米良さんの歌う〈もののけ姫〉だ。

映画のラストで歌詞も出ないのに、ほとんど歌詞を覚えていた自分にも何故か涙が出た。暗くてちょっと怖いと嫌煙していた【もののけ姫】だったが…。20年以上の時がたっても、それだけわたしの中に刷り込まれていたと証明された瞬間だった。

大人になって観た【もののけ姫】

今回のIMAXでの上映。普段映画を自ら借りてくるなんてありえなかった父の行動を起こさせた作品【もののけ姫】。何が何でも、生まれて初めて映画館で観たかった。

公開初日の最初の週末は予定があって、映画館に行くことが出来なかった。公開最初の週末はとんでもない込み具合と聞いていたので、次の週末もわたしの好みの劇場かつ好みの座席で観られる確証はなかった。とてつもなく忙しかった2週間の合間、仕事を無理くり休んで朝いちばんの映画館へと向かった。そんな中わたしは一人、気がかりな職場の女性がいた。彼女は東京のオフィスでわたしをサポートしてくれるような立場なのだが最近電話で話してもメールをしても元気がないのだ。孤立していて電話で話す声はいつも震えていた。

そんな状況だったので、わたし自身とてつもなく疲れていたのは確かだ。タイトルバックが出るまでに泣いた作品は【君たちはどう生きるか】だったが…。タイトルバックで【もののけ姫】と出た瞬間、泣くとは思わなかった。さすがに「疲れすぎてる…わたし…。」と思った瞬間。隣の女性も号泣していて、本当にびっくりした。

関西では一番大きなスクリーンと会場で観たので、平日の朝一番の回。さすがに満席ではなかったが、あり得ないほどの席の埋まり具合。そこかしこでタイトルが出た瞬間、鼻をすする音が聞こえてきたのだった…。

あんなに幼いころ世界に入り込んだ【もののけ姫】だが、そこまで好きな作品とは言えなかった。当時のわたしには暗くて怖かったのだ。なので以前の文章【パトレイバー】で【崖の上のポニョ】について書いたように…。何度も自分から見るような作品ではなかった。幼い頃タタリガミの、あの冒頭シーンでヤックルの様におびえ切ったのだが…。年長さんだったわたしが、あのシーンで完全に【もののけ姫】の世界観に引き込まれたのも確かだった。

【もののけ姫】観る遥か前だったと思う。初めて観た映画で大号泣したのが【ドラえもん のび太の日本誕生】だった。ずっと一緒にいられると思っていたペガサスの〈ぺガちゃん〉とお別れするなんて全く思ってもおらず、ラストのシーンエンドロールになってもずっと大号泣していた。この世の終わりのような絶望感だった。

映画を観たのは当時3～4歳だったように思うが2歳くらいでヨーグルトの、おかわりがないと告げられ絶望感でのけぞって泣いたことはあっても…。絵本やお話を聞いて大号泣したことなんてなかったので自分でも、あまりの悲しさにびっくりしたのを覚えている。この【ドラえもん のび太の日本誕生】に出てきて、布団の上で恐怖感がぬぐえずおびえたのを今もって思い出すのが…。この土偶だ。

この土偶に通じる不気味さが映画全体に漂う【もののけ姫】。ごっこ遊びをすることはあっても自ら、積極的にその後見ることはなかった。そんなわたしが大人になって、生まれて初めて映画館で観た【もののけ姫】は10分に1回、涙と鼻水なしでは見られない作品だった。

タタラ場の女たちが売られていて、エボシが保護していたこと。サンの親が自分たちの身代わりに、と差し出した赤ん坊がサンだったこと。セリフを言えるくらいに【もののけ姫】ごっこをしていたので、映画を観てもこれらの設定の言い回しは覚えていた。しかしそれがどういう事なのかを理解できるようになり…。自分事としてとらえられるようになってから観た【もののけ姫】は泣きはらしてボーっと映画館を後にするほどだった。まさかこんな展開は想像もしていなかった。

このところ「京都 嵐山に熊が出た」というニュースが職場でも話題になったほどだ。そこに来て先日の、いるはずのないアスファルトの上のタヌキとの視線の攻防…。幼いころに観た時は、身近にいる野生動物と言えば鳩とか雀くらい。学者でもなんでもないので正確な定義は知らないが…。その鳩や雀だって人間の生活圏内で暮らしているわけだから、本当に野生と言っていいかどうかも怪しい。

そんなわたしも京都にきて〈わたしのはなし〉に書いた以上の、生き物との出会いがあった。東寺の前で雪の降る中「ケガをしているのではないか」と思うほど動かない鷺との出会いや…。大雨の日に雨宿りをしていたら、雷と大雨を避けるように雨宿りしていた軒下を走るタヌキ。通勤電車に乗っていると…いつもは目を向けない、お墓に雲の合間から光がさしてお参りしているように見えた鹿…。

《神様の住んでいる土地を切り開いて建物を建てる》と、脈々と〈わたしにまで伝わるような話がある〉そんな京都に来ていなかったら…。もしかしたら、今回映画をみた印象も涙と鼻水の回数も…。もしかしたら違って感じたかもしれない。

サンの声を演じた石田ゆり子さんへ

【もののけ姫】の今回のリバイバル上映時の舞台挨拶を、You tubeで拝見しました。「当時、あまりに不出来で…。降ろされるかもしれない。と、本気で思っていました。」そう語る、あなたの声は震えていました。当時のことを思い出して震える声をきいていたら、電話の向こうで声をふるわせる〈わたしの身近な職場で孤立しても良い職場にしようと奮闘している彼女〉に重ねずにはいられませんでした。

「わたしは降りる」「もう一度サンの声を撮り直させてほしい」それは本当に切実だったのだと思います。わたしには声優さんのお仕事も、女優さんのお仕事の世界だってわかりません。ただ10年社会で働くようになって、わたしの職場の女性の様に…。働くという中ではどうにも孤立をし、絶望感を味わう場面が多々あるのを周囲の人を見ていて…。さらには自分自身のことを振り返っても共感せざるおえませんでした。そして何より、聞けば聞くほど自分や同僚に重ねてしまい…。あなたのサンの声をめぐる想いに、心をよせずにはいられませんでした。

あなたに届くかは、わからないけれど書かずにはいられません。あなたの声が、あの時のあなたにしかできないサンがわたしには宝物です。「食べないのか」「おまえ死ぬのか」とビーフジャーキー片手に一人〈サンごっこ〉をしていた時も…。わたしの頭にはあなたの声が響いていました。保育園の教室に椅子を並べてタタラ場の屋根を走る時だって、あなたの息遣いがわたしの頭には響いていました。

最初はワクワクして取り組んだお仕事だったはずなのに…。とってもつらかった、とっても大変だった作品なのだと思います。だけどわたしにとっては《あなたの、あの時の声》が今でも宝物だったと断言できます。今回久しぶりに見た、映画館での涙と鼻水がその証拠です。そして、わたしが観た劇場において…それはわたしだけではありませんでした。

今回のリバイバル上映、好評でDolby cinemaでも再上映が決まったそうですね。

「おまえパンツはいてないじゃん」のくだりや大変なご苦労を知ってからは、まだ【もののけ姫】を観ていないので…。お嫌かもしれませんが、もう一度Dolby cinemaで観るのを楽しみにしております。

「10歳の子の方が【もののけ姫】の世界を理解している」と宮崎駿さんは語られたそうですが…。幼いわたしは当時10歳以下でした。〈わたしにはサンはサン〉で、それ以外の人でも動物でもありませんでした。なので、石田ゆり子さんのお声と認識できていませんでした。しかし今回YouTubeで観たあなたの素直なあの舞台挨拶の場でのお話で、大ファンになりました。これからも応援しております。

おまけ

シネマ歌舞伎

映画【国宝】を観てから、オーディオブックで実際の歌舞伎役者さん（当時のお名前）尾上菊之助さんが読む国宝を聞いて歌舞伎が観たくなった。そしてシネマ歌舞伎なんて誰が観るんだと思っていたわたしはどこへやら…。つい先日【鷺娘】を観に行ったのだった。その後、【国宝】にも出てきた【二人道成寺】を…。映画【国宝】のモデルとなった坂東玉三郎さんと、オーディオブックの（当時）尾上菊之助さんが演じるシネマ歌舞伎で再上映してくれるというではないか…。喜んで観に行った。

そして前回【鷺娘】を観た時からは違うこととして…なんと解説音声を聴きながら観ることが出来たのだ。それもnoteのおかげといっても、その方を半面教師にしたというほうが正しいのだが…。noteを読んでいて、スマホにアプリをダウンロードしておくと劇場内の音声を拾ってくれ…。リンクした解説を流してくれるというツールがあったが、自分はうまく使えなかったという文章を読んだのだった。

その文章を読むまで、そんなツールがあることも知らなかったわたしはダメ元でそのアプリを入れてから劇場に向かったのである。もう【国宝】のオーディオブックさながら素敵な劇場体験となりました。そのアプリで今度は二人道成寺ならぬ5人道成寺の上演があることも知りました。解説では2人で演じることで陰と陽を演じ分けていた白拍子花子。5人って？！楽しみ極まりない…。

古民家での出会い

今年の初夏。本当に偶然、関西の田舎にある古民家に泊まることになった。ほとんど初対面のその人のおうちに泊まることになったのも偶然の流れだし、そんな中に飛び込んだのも我ながらすごいな…。と、思うのだが…。そこにはたくさんの初めましての方が集まっていた。

そんな中で、とっても物静かな女の子がいた。しかしとっても筋肉質で絶対にアウトドア派なんだろうな…。と思いながらも物静かだったので、わたしも話しかけずにいたのだった。その子の指には、黒く三角の刺青がそれぞれの指に彫られていた。それだけでミステリアスで、気になっていたものの…話しかけられずに夜も深まっていった。そんなときもう一人の初めましての人が、その子にむかって「ねえっ。それアイヌのっ。」と話しかけたのだった。よくよく聞くとその入れ墨は各地方によっていろんな言い伝えがあるものの、魔よけのような…お守りのようないろんな意味があるらしい。

映画の文章を書くにあたって、文章が揺れてしまうので書き終わるまではリサーチしないと心に決めている。そんなわたしでもあまりにもサンの頬と額に書かれた？彫られた？模様がその古民家の彼女のものと酷似していて…。調べるのをこらえるのが大変だった。この文章を書き終わったら、サンの顔のデザインの起源について調べてみたい。

noteでの出会い

noteで次の映画何観ようかな～とスクロールしていると…。とっても素敵な方の文章に出会った。自らの息子に宛てた文章で、年齢を重ねてから生まれたお子さんの為…。いつかきちんと伝わりますようにと願いを込めて映画の感想を書かれていた。

あまりにも素敵な文章だった為、コメントをすると…これまた丁寧に返していただいた。わたしの父は映画が好きな方ではなかったはずですが、あなたの文章を読んでいると父からの手紙を読んでいるようでした。素敵な時間をありがとうございました。

さらに先日書いた文章にコメントを書いてくださった方がいた。読んでみると…。おひとりの方は【ラ・ラ・ランド】でわたしが公開当時に観た時と今とでは全く違って観えたと書いたところ…。「自分も最近同じような経験をした」とコメントを交えながら映画を紹介してくださった。

クリスマスのモミの木を運ぶシーンは洋画あるあるなので…。既視感というかもしかしたら、小さい時に母が観ていた横に座っていたかも…。と思うものの、初見（だと思う）で拝見しました。まさかラブコメでウルッと来る日が来るとは。あの日ミスタードーナツで同じサル役をやった彼と、お茶をしていた高校卒業したてのわたしではウルッとはなっていなかったと思います笑
とっても素敵な作品とめぐり合わせていただきありがとうございました。

さらにもう一方…。いつもコメントをくださるかたがいる。おすすめの映画と共に。こちらもご覧になっていなかったので、観てみようとサブスクのページを開いてみると【パンズ・ラビリンス】のギルモ・デル・トロと並んで不思議な世界観だけどわたしの好きな監督。テリーギリアム監督となっているではないか。【Dr.パルナサスの鏡】を母と共に映画館で観て、母に観せられた【モンティパイソン】を見た日には決まって変な夢をみると、わたしの中ではかの有名な〈テリーギリアム〉監督だ。笑

ブラッドビッドよっ！こんな演技もできたんかい！とかいろいろ言いたいことはあるのだが…。何より再生を押して開始早々びっくりしたのは…。

なんとあの地獄の新体操のソロ曲がこれでもかと流れてくるではないか…。どれだけ聞いても短いフレーズが繰り返されるばかりなので、当時のソロ曲を新体操の先生たちがどこから引っ張ってきたのか…。まだリサーチできていないので、わからないが。
週末のサルを目撃したドライブでトンネルを何本も潜り抜けながら、【あまちゃん】に思いを馳せ…。曲の衝撃で変な夢も見なかった初めてのテリーギリアム作品でした。いつもコメントありがとうございます。思いがけない出会いをありがとうございました。

おしまい

My Rules for Watching Movies and Writing About Them

I touched on this briefly in my first movie review on note, [Substance], "Eggs, Chickens, and The Shining 🍳," but here are my personal rules for watching movies and writing about them on note:

• Choosing a Film: I try not to input any prior information and decide whether to watch a movie based solely on the poster or thumbnail image. I find that this makes the viewing experience more surprising and interesting.

• Writing:

  • When writing spoiler-free reviews, I keep them under 140 characters.

  • Even when writing reviews with spoilers, I avoid detailed plot summaries.

  • Before talking about the movie, I always include a personal story ( "My Story") as a form of self-introduction, which will later relate to the film.

Before the Movie: My Story

Kyoto and Wild Animals

One of the things that surprised me most when I moved to Kyoto was how close the mountains are. Before that, I had been working in the Kanto region. On my first day at the Kyoto office, I saw mountains from the window at a distance I had never experienced before. I blurted out, "Wow, I can see the mountains!" Immediately, someone shouted, "Heidi!" I didn't understand the Kansai humor and just stood there blankly as everyone chuckled. (Now, I think I'd have the confidence and the sense of humor to retort, "Then you guys are my Grandpa Alm!" and get a laugh.)What surprised me even more was the presence of "Beware of Animal Crossing" signs. And it wasn't just signs without ever seeing any animals. The first time I encountered a deer was in my car. I had parked in a rotary for a long time, which was a nuisance. Until picking someone up, I felt like I was in an eternal, innocent space, almost forgetting that glass separated me from the deer. It was a strange time.

Furthermore, while driving through a residential area, I saw a family of deer and a herd drinking water by the river. Surprised, I later talked to someone who lived nearby when we passed by the same spot. When I told them about the deer drinking water, they shared an even more surprising story. Near there was a luxury car dealership, and they said that "at night, deer were jumping all over the luxury cars!" I was so stunned that I almost collapsed in laughter while walking. Then, snapping back to reality, I asked, "I wonder if that's covered by insurance?" This caused even more laughter, and for a while, I walked to the station with a strange gait from laughing so much.

I had gotten used to such occurrences until just the other day when I encountered a raccoon right in front of my house. It might have been a masked palm civet or something I couldn't quite identify, but it looked like a raccoon to me. Previously, I had been driving when a commotion unfolded right in front of my car: some men were trying to guide a raccoon that had emerged from a bamboo grove onto the road back into the grove. I thought I had wandered into a Ghibli movie, but at the time, I watched with bated breath. So, I had seen raccoons up close before (I think), and this one had the same shape. However, my house isn't in a bamboo grove. It's in a relatively urban part of Kyoto. Suddenly, a raccoon, bigger than a cat with a thick tail (I think), came down the outside stairs of my apartment and crossed the sidewalk. What's more, it made eye contact with me, and we both froze.

It was like boxers circling each other in the ring, maintaining a certain distance. For some reason, even though I wasn't threatened, I felt like the raccoon, smaller than me, might attack at any moment. I think we were both just scared of each other. It was late, and I wanted to get home, which was just a few steps away, but I couldn't move. Even as I thought this, I couldn't break eye contact with the raccoon. What broke the tension was a man wearing earphones and staring at his phone. He didn't notice our tension, and even caught me standing in a strange place out of the corner of his eye, giving me a slightly dubious look as he walked briskly by while looking at his phone.

It was just a moment, but the man looked like a hero to me. He was so cool. His presence gave me a sense of security. The raccoon, startled, slowly walked away while still keeping an eye on me. And I stuck close behind the man, almost jogging, until I safely reached my house, just 20 seconds away.

Less than a month after that, I encountered a monkey. It wasn't as close as the raccoon encounter, just a brief sighting. Until now, the encounters had been relatively urban, but this time, I was driving alone in the countryside of Kyoto for errands on the weekend. There were many "Beware of Animals" signs flashing on the left side of the highway.

As I was about to enter a tunnel, something zipped across the top of the tunnel entrance. I looked up and saw a monkey standing above the entrance, where the tunnel name was written, looking down at me. It was just a moment, but it seemed like the monkey was looking down on the human world.

Kindergarten Play: The Monkey-Crab Battle

The last play in kindergarten was "The Monkey-Crab Battle." It was a picture book that we were often read before naps, lunch, and outdoor play. So everyone knew the characters. On the day we decided to perform "The Monkey-Crab Battle" at the play, before nap time, the lights were turned off, and we were lined up in pajamas in the dimly lit classroom. The teacher instructed us to whisper the role we wanted to play. I definitely wanted to be the crab or the bee because their costumes would be cute. I waited my turn, step by step, thinking about this.

When it was finally my turn, I told the teacher, "I want to be the crab or the bee." But I immediately added, "If there aren't enough kids for the monkey role, I can be the monkey." I didn't know why I said that, but I didn't think everyone who knew the story of "The Monkey-Crab Battle" would want to be the monkey. It was obvious that there would be a rush for the other characters, so I spoke impulsively, or rather, my mouth moved on its own.

On the day of the play, I was delighted to wear a pink vest, made of different colored vinyl, to express my individuality in the monkey costume. During the performance, I fell on stage, and I knew everyone gasped. But a boy who was also playing the monkey, with whom I exchanged Valentine's and White Day gifts, quickly offered me his hand, changing the atmosphere from shock to warmth.

I met that boy again during spring break after graduating from high school at driving school, and I don't remember how it happened, but we went to a Mister Donut near our houses that we used to go to when we were little. However, he must have been very nervous because he kept tearing the paper napkin into tiny pieces while talking. (I was too young to find him cute then.) I was so turned off that I didn't hear anything he said, and my childhood crush was scattered with the paper napkin. Now, whenever I go to Mister Donut and see the paper napkins on the tray, I sometimes remember him.

Curse

I have several traumas. One of them is solo performances in dance. I wrote about this a little in [National Treasure] and [La La Land], but I had been doing rhythmic gymnastics since I was three years old. My second performance was when I was four, wearing a shocking pink leotard with patterns woven with glittery thread. My ears were made of the same fabric and secured with bobby pins so they wouldn't fall off when I did a forward roll. I painted black bottle caps and hung them from my ears with fishing line to make a nose. And I cut thin strips of black vinyl tape and stuck three on each cheek. The unusual preparation alone made me excited for the day of the performance.About ten children around the age of four came out in those costumes and danced to the upbeat song "Chan-cha Chan-cha~♪ Chan-cha chan-chan cha-cha cha-cha~~♪" from the movie [My Neighbor Totoro], the song when the Catbus runs through the forest. I think the group itself was extremely cute, rather than myself. I was in the second youngest class in the rhythmic gymnastics class at the time. An older elementary school student took me to my position. Parents dressed in all black stood at the four corners of the gymnasium, ready to rush in if anything happened. And the teacher danced behind the audience so we could finish the dance even if we forgot the steps. In that safe and secure environment, it was so much fun to dance with my "friends" while imitating the teacher.

I grew up, and I think I was in the middle grades of elementary school. I'm not sure of my age or grade, but I had to dance solo for the first time. It wasn't that I was chosen, but everyone had to dance the same song solo. And I had to dance under the pressure of two or three teachers watching me at a long table, a far cry from the Catbus performance.

I would come home from elementary school and watch reruns of [Furuhata Ninzaburo], even if it meant canceling plans to play.

There was also an episode with the title I don't know, [Zundoko Beroncho], but I remember the episode where the mouth disappears first, then the body gradually disappears, and finally only the moldy bread from breakfast remains.

The song was a repetitive phrase, used in the opening theme of [Furuhata Ninzaburo] and [Tales of the Unusual]. It was dark, and the repetition made it hard to know where I was in the dance. Even now, I think it would be a difficult song. I don't know if it was a performance or some kind of class placement audition. Memory is a scary thing, and I've completely erased the details, but on the day of the solo performance, I still remember the first pose. But after repeating the same phrase three or four times, I didn't know where I was in the dance. My mind went blank, my body froze, and I was the only one who couldn't finish the dance.

Looking back, I was a lazy child who never practiced at home except for the once-a-week lesson. So, it was a natural result. But at the time, I was shocked beyond belief. It was such a trauma that even when I started dancing again as an adult, I would say "Absolutely not" when asked to perform solo.

I continued to attend rhythmic gymnastics almost without fail because it was a third place, outside of school and home, where people had known me since I was little. Or maybe I simply enjoyed moving my body with children my age. I don't know the reason for my intrinsic motivation to continue to the end, but it was my parents who supported me so that I could continue rhythmic gymnastics, including the monthly fees, costume preparation, and expensive equipment (in rhythmic gymnastics, the equipment, such as balls, hoops, and ribbons, are called "shugu"). But it was mainly my mother.

Even though my mother worked full-time, she drove me back and forth every week, sometimes 20 minutes and sometimes 40 minutes each way. The gymnasium we went to every week was fixed, but before the performances, joint practices and rehearsals were held at different, slightly further gymnasiums. I think it was on the way back from one of those different gymnasiums... I stopped at a red light in front of a road I had passed several times, a bridge or a low overpass. At that red light, my mother suddenly began to speak.

"Hey, did you know? There's a small shrine on the left side of this road... I think it's a Jizo or a god enshrined there. They tried to build this road many times, but each time there was a flood or an accident, and the construction was never completed. So it makes sense that it's a bit of a 'strange road'..." Her tone as she spoke quietly, illuminated by the streetlights at night, is still vivid in my mind, even the atmosphere in the car at that time.

I grew up, became a working adult, and before I knew it, ten years had passed. The other day, by some twist of fate, I had an architect in the passenger seat of my car. He was a Showa-era salaryman who had already been wearing a tie when I was born and laughed heartily, saying, "I'll be retiring soon." He was the epitome of a Showa-era old man, with expensive suits and shoes, and a hand that never stopped smoking, even though cigarettes had become electronic.

I was driving, giving him a brief tour of Kyoto, telling him about the area. Because he was an architect, he only noticed places under construction. He kept asking, "What's here? What's here?" The places he asked about were all construction sites covered with dust-proof white curtains. It was hard for me to remember what had been there.

When he finally asked, "What's here?" I remembered the small bridge-like overpass that my mother had told me about. "Here... they cut down the land where a god lives and built a building... It's getting old, so they're rebuilding it recently. There's a shrine nearby..." As I was talking, he said casually, "Oh, some people might have died." He wasn't the kind of person to make such jokes. His eyes were serious. I'm sure there are countless stories like that in Japan that I don't know about.

Spoiler-Free Movie Review

A Tatarigami appears before young Ashitaka, who lives in a northern village. His actions to protect the village and the girl who lives there change his life forever.

The way the natural world is expressed in animation is overwhelming. You can even feel the humid forest air. If you haven't seen it in a theater, see it in a theater. It's not just a period drama. It's a work that modern Japanese people need. (140 Japanese characters)

Movie Review with Spoilers

I Entered the Movie for the First Time in My Life

When I was in kindergarten, my family would go to the video rental store and rent a few videos, which was a weekend treat. My mother was much more of a movie lover than my father, so we would go to the video rental store with my mother and me, or with my father, mother, and me. One weekday night, my father, who has now passed away, came home with a video rental bag. I was surprised that my father, who wasn't much of a movie lover, had gone to the video rental store alone. But with a voice of "I'm home~," [Princess Mononoke] came out of the bag.

I don't know if we watched it together that night, or if my mother and I watched it on a different weekday. But I think I remember watching it with my father, mother, and me. I entered the story, and I can't remember the circumstances in which I watched it, but I can only remember the world of [Princess Mononoke]. I knew that it was a big hit at the time, but it became a part of my life rather than a hit.

[Princess Mononoke] Volume 1 ISBN: 978-4198607623

In the process of searching for images, I found out that it was divided into two volumes, and I couldn't get a sense of it even if I looked at the contents on the sample page. I may have only had it read to me in kindergarten, but I knew that other Ghibli works of this kind of picture book were lined up in bookstores, but I had never picked them up. But I remember picking up this first volume many times.

I had been shown many movies at home before, but there was no movie that I had entered into the world so much. As proof, I don't know how many times I played [Princess Mononoke] in kindergarten, and I spent my days playing [Princess Mononoke] alone at home.

I often went to the liquor store with my parents to buy a 24-pack of Asahi beer for my father to drink while the blankets were being washed at the laundromat. There was beef jerky that my father always bought, and my mother would say, "It's salty, so no!" because it was high in salt, but I would get a small piece or two from my father and play [Princess Mononoke] alone in the Japanese-style room, asking, "Aren't you going to eat it?"

In kindergarten, we would line up the chairs (chairs that adults would sit on in a Japanese-style sitting position) in a long row and run on them to play [Princess Mononoke].

When I think about it now, the teachers shouldn't have allowed such a dangerous game, so I imagine that we were actually walking "slowly" even if we were "running." LOL

But in reality... the chairs looked like the roof of the Tatara ironworks to everyone, including me... and everyone was San running at full speed, or Eboshi, Gonza, and Otoki waiting below.

The First Lie I Ever Told

When I was little, it was a daily routine to have a picture book read to me or have a story told to me before going to bed. But there were only two or three nights when I got into bed and told my mother a story. That was [Princess Mononoke].I don't remember the flow of the conversation at all, but I think I was talking about what happened at kindergarten that day. It may have been the night when we lined up the chairs and played [Princess Mononoke]. For some reason, I said [Princess Mononoke] in a conversation like "What are you going to do at the next play?" When I think about it now, I think I had so much fun playing [Princess Mononoke] at kindergarten.

Even now, when I watch a movie that I didn't like, I sometimes play a fantasy game with my mother, saying, "If this casting had been perfect, it would have been a big hit." My casting of It's a very personal and reflective piece, so I've tried to maintain the authenticity of the original Japanese.[Princess Mononoke], which I thought of long before I played such games, is still so wonderful that I'm impressed. LOL My best friend, who plays Yakul, looks just like him. And there's absolutely no one other than another of my best friends who could play Lady Eboshi because of her strong spirit.

Lady Eboshi is said to be modeled after Shirabyoshi. I heard Shirabyoshi many times while listening to the audiobook of the original [National Treasure]. Her life must have been tragic.

My mother must have asked me, "What are you going to do?" in the flow of the conversation, but I have no memory of answering or talking about it myself. Maybe I was just the stage director. LOL

The idea of having the only young male teacher in kindergarten carry me on his shoulders and having the tallest girl in the class, who speaks in a flat voice, carry a translucent light blue plastic bag is funny...

The day came when I had to end my bedtime story, and I cried and told my mother, "I'm really going to do [The Monkey-Crab Battle]," which is a good memory.

[Princess Mononoke] Watched as an Adult

This time, it was screened in IMAX. It was the work that made my father, who would never rent a movie himself, take action. I wanted to see [Princess Mononoke] in the theater for the first time no matter what. I had plans for the first weekend of the release, so I couldn't go to the theater. I heard that the first weekend of the release was incredibly crowded, so I wasn't sure if I could see it at my favorite theater and in my favorite seat the following weekend. In the middle of two incredibly busy weeks, I forced myself to take a day off from work and went to the theater first thing in the morning. In the meantime, there was a woman at work who I was worried about. She was in a position to support me in the Tokyo office, but she hadn't been feeling well lately, even when I talked to her on the phone or emailed her. She was isolated, and her voice always trembled when she talked on the phone.

I was definitely very tired. [How Do You Live?] was the work that made me cry before the title back came out, but I didn't think I would cry the moment [Princess Mononoke] came out in the title back. I thought, "I'm too tired..." At that moment, the woman next to me was also crying, which really surprised me. I watched it on the biggest screen and in the biggest venue in Kansai, so it wasn't full on the first weekday morning. But the seats were filled to an unbelievable extent. I could hear people sniffling the moment the title came out everywhere....

What surprised me more was that Lady Hii, who I thought was as old as Grandma Naska, was younger than I thought. One aspect of Princess Mononoke that I saw differently was that I was getting closer to the age that I thought was old at the time.

I had entered the world of [Princess Mononoke] so much when I was little, but I couldn't say that I liked it that much. It was dark and scary for me at the time. So, as I wrote about [Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea] in the previous article [Patlabor], it wasn't a work that I would watch myself many times. When I was little, I was as scared as Yakul in the opening scene of Tatarigami.... But it was also true that I was completely drawn into the world of [Princess Mononoke] in that scene when I was a senior in kindergarten.

When writing this article, I usually don't research the movie I'm going to write about before writing it. But I found a [Princess Mononoke] pamphlet that was sold out at another movie theater, and I couldn't help but read it. "There has never been a protagonist who has been burdened with such a dark thing," Miyazaki Hayao said in the pamphlet.

I think it was long before I watched [Princess Mononoke]. The first movie that made me cry a lot was [Doraemon: Nobita's Genesis Japan]. I never thought that I would have to say goodbye to Pegasus [Pega-chan], who I thought I would be with forever, and I kept crying during the last scene and the end roll. It was a feeling of despair like the end of the world.

I think I was 3-4 years old at the time, but even if I was told that there was no more yogurt when I was 2 years old, I would cry in despair and fall back.... I had never cried so much after reading a picture book or hearing a story, so I was surprised by the sadness. I still remember being scared and frightened on the futon by this dogu that appeared in [Doraemon: Nobita's Genesis Japan].

The eerie feeling that is common to this dogu permeates the entire movie [Princess Mononoke]. Even though I played pretend, I never actively watched it after that. When I watched [Princess Mononoke] for the first time in the theater as an adult, I couldn't watch it without tears and snot every 10 minutes.

The women of Tatara were sold, and Eboshi protected them. San's parents offered San as a substitute for themselves as a baby. I had played [Princess Mononoke] so much that I could say the lines, so I remembered the wording of these settings even after watching the movie. But after I became able to understand what that meant... [Princess Mononoke], which I watched after I became able to understand it as my own, made me cry so much that I left the theater in a daze.

Recently, the news that "a bear appeared in Arashiyama, Kyoto" has been a hot topic at work. Then, the other day, the battle of eyes with the raccoon on the asphalt that shouldn't have been there.... When I was little, the only wild animals that were close to me were pigeons and sparrows. I'm not a scholar or anything, so I don't know the exact definition, but... those pigeons and sparrows live in the human living area, so I don't know if they can really be called wild.

I came to Kyoto and had more encounters with living things than I wrote in [My Story]. Encounters with herons that didn't move in front of Toji Temple in the snow, as if they were "injured"... A raccoon running under the eaves to avoid the thunder and heavy rain while I was sheltering from the rain on a rainy day. Deer that I don't usually look at on the commuter train, but that looked like they were worshiping with light shining from between the clouds on the grave....

If I hadn't come to Kyoto, where there is a story that "cutting down the land where God lives and building a building" has been passed down to me..., maybe the impression I got from watching the movie this time, the number of tears and snot... maybe it would have felt different.

To Yuriko Ishida

I watched the stage greeting of [Princess Mononoke] at this revival screening on YouTube. "At the time, I was so bad... I really thought I might be taken off the project," you said, your voice trembling. Your voice trembled as you remembered what happened at the time, and I couldn't help but overlap it with the isolated woman at my workplace.

"I'm getting off," "I want you to let me re-record San's voice," it must have been really desperate. I don't know the world of voice actors or actresses. But after working for 10 years, I see many people around me, like the woman at my workplace, who are isolated and feel despair in their work.... And when I look back on my own experiences, I couldn't help but feel for your thoughts about San's voice.

But at the time, I didn't have the vocabulary to verbalize this, and I didn't have the experience to sympathize with it... I didn't have the power to send it out, and I didn't have the tools. I don't know if it will reach you, but I can't help but write it. Your voice, the San that only you could do at that time, is a treasure to me. Even when I was playing [San] alone with a piece of beef jerky, saying, "Aren't you going to eat it?" "Are you going to die?", your voice was echoing in my head. Even when I was lining up chairs in the kindergarten classroom and running on the roof of the Tatara ironworks, your breathing was echoing in my head.

It should have been a job that you started with excitement.... It must have been a very painful and very difficult work. But for me, [your voice at that time] is still a treasure. The tears and snot in the theater this time are proof of that. And it wasn't just me. This revival screening has been well received, and it has been decided that it will be re-screened in Dolby cinema.

I haven't watched [Princess Mononoke] since I found out about the "You're not wearing pants" scene and the hard work you went through.... I'm looking forward to watching it again in Dolby cinema, even though you might not like it.

Miyazaki Hayao said that "a 10-year-old understands the world of [Princess Mononoke] better," but I was under 10 years old at the time, and [San was San] to me, and not a person or an animal. So, I didn't recognize Yuriko Ishida's voice. But I became a big fan of you after hearing your honest story at that stage greeting on YouTube this time. I will continue to support you.

Bonus

Cinema Kabuki

After watching the movie [National Treasure], I listened to the audiobook of [National Treasure] read by the actual Kabuki actor (his name at the time) Kichinosuke Onoe, and I wanted to see Kabuki. I went to see [Sagi Musume] the other day. Then, [Futari Dojoji], which also appeared in [National Treasure]... It was decided that the Cinema Kabuki performed by Tamasaburo Bando, who was the model for the movie [National Treasure], and (at the time) Kichinosuke Onoe, who was in the audiobook, would be re-screened.... I was happy to go see it.

How many times have I heard the words Shirabyoshi Hanako in the audiobook...

And what was different from when I saw [Sagi Musume] last time was... I was able to watch it while listening to the commentary. It was thanks to note, or rather, it was because I used that person as a negative example.... I was reading note and found out that there was a tool that would pick up the audio in the theater if you downloaded an app to your smartphone... and play the linked commentary, but I read an article that said that the author couldn't use it well.

I didn't even know that such a tool existed until I read that article, so I went to the theater after installing the app, just in case. It was a wonderful theater experience, just like the audiobook of [National Treasure]. I also found out about the performance of Gonin Dojoji, not Futari Dojoji, with that app. The commentary said that Shirabyoshi Hanako was playing the yin and yang by performing with two people. Five people?! I'm looking forward to it....

Encounter at an Old House

In early summer this year, I happened to stay at an old house in the countryside of Kansai. It was a coincidence that I stayed at the house of that person, who I had barely met, and I think it's amazing that I jumped into such a situation.... There were many people I was meeting for the first time.

Among them, there was a very quiet girl. But she was very muscular, and I thought she must be an outdoorsy person.... But she was so quiet that I didn't talk to her. She had black triangular tattoos on her fingers. That alone was mysterious, and I was curious, but I couldn't talk to her, and the night deepened. Then, another person I was meeting for the first time said to her, "Hey, is that Ainu?" When I listened closely, I found out that the tattoos have various meanings depending on the region, such as a charm or an amulet.

When writing a movie article, I'm determined not to research it until I've finished writing it, because the article will be shaken. Even so, the pattern written or carved on San's cheeks and forehead was so similar to the one on the girl in the old house.... It was hard to resist researching it. After I finish writing this article, I want to research the origin of San's face design.

Encounter on note

When I was scrolling through note to see what movie to watch next..., I came across an article by a very wonderful person. It was an article addressed to his son, written for his child who was born after he got older.... He was writing movie reviews with the hope that they would be properly conveyed someday.

The article was so wonderful that I left a comment, and he replied to me very politely. My father shouldn't have been a movie lover, but reading your article was like reading a letter from my father. Thank you for the wonderful time.

Furthermore, someone left a comment on the article I wrote the other day. When I read it..., one person wrote that [La La Land] looked completely different to me now than when I saw it when it was released. "I had a similar experience recently," he said, introducing the movie while exchanging comments.

[When Harry Met Sally...] Meg Ryan is so cute...

The scene of carrying the Christmas fir tree is a common occurrence.... I saw it for the first time (I think), but maybe I was sitting next to my mother when she was watching it when I was little.... I never thought that the day would come when I would cry in a romantic comedy. I don't think I would have cried when I was having tea with the boy who played the same monkey role at Mister Donut right after graduating from high school. LOL Thank you for introducing me to a very wonderful work.

Furthermore, there is another person... who always leaves comments. Along with recommended movies. I hadn't seen this one either, so I opened the subscription page to watch it, and it turned out to be directed by Terry Gilliam. I watched [The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus] with my mother in the theater, and my mother always has strange dreams when she watches [Monty Python], so he's the famous director [Terry Gilliam] in my mind. LOL

Brad Pitt, you can act like this! There are many things I want to say, but... what surprised me most when I pressed play and started watching was....

The solo song from that hellish rhythmic gymnastics was playing over and over again.... No matter how much I listen to it, it's just a short phrase being repeated, so I don't know where the rhythmic gymnastics teachers got the solo song at the time.... I haven't been able to research it yet, so I don't know. It was the first Terry Gilliam work that I didn't have strange dreams about, while driving through many tunnels and thinking about [Amachan].... Thank you for the unexpected encounter.

The End

-This sentence is being translated by AI.-